Brauns attended the University of Marburg from 1881 to 1885, receiving his Ph.D in 1884. From 1883 to 1894 he was an assistant at the Mineralogical Institute in Marburg. In 1894, Brauns was appointed ordinary professor of mineralogy and geology at the technical high school in Karlsruhe, but in 1895 he took a similar post at the University of Giessen. In 1904 Brauns moved on to the University at Kiel, Germany, and in 1907 to the University of Bonn where he spent the remainder of his life. Brauns was a founding member of the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft, as well as an honorary member of many other societies. He was an editor of the Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie und Geologie and the Zeitblatt für Mineralogie. His major theoretical work centers upon the optical anomalies in crystals, chemical mineralogy and the production of synthetic gemstones.

Very scarce. A prize winning essay extending the pioneer work of Mallard on optical anomalies. It is a compendium of all known facts about optical crystal anomalies. Divided into two major parts, the first of which develops the subject through an historical review recalling the work of Mallard, Brewster, Biot, Scacchi, Neumann, among others (pp. 5-56). The second part describes optical anomalies Brauns had observed in a large variety of minerals (pp. 57-362).

Very scarce. Written for both the student and instructor in mineralogy, this text focuses on the chemical qualities of minerals and their corresponding importance in mineralogy. Topics covered include molecular combinations, processes and enviorments of mineral formation, crystal structure, relationships between chemistry and crystal form, the effects of chemistry on the physical properties of minerals, and theories on the formation of minerals in nature.

Very scarce. This short introductory text to mineralogy includes general discussions of mineralogical form and physical and chemcial properties, followed by a descriptive mineralogy that lists the most common species.

Very scarce. A classic work in popular mineralogical literature. Braun's Das Mineralreich is a large format, ambitious book sought after today for its c900 color illustrations that show the most important minerals in their natural form, color, and size on 73 chromo1ithographic and 14 black and white plates. But when Brauns wrote the book, he was at the pinnacle of his profession, and the text reflects his deep love and technical knowledge of minerals, which surprisingly can still be read with interest, especially for the details on old European localities. However, the text is now largely overlooked and thought to be obsolete due to the incorporation in the book of the chromolithographic plates.

These plates were at their publication a sensation for their quality. It required much planning and great technical and artistic ability to produce the illustrations that were modeled on actual specimens. So that no damage would occur from transport, minerals from various private and publish European collections were carefully packed and hand delivered to the Schreiber's studios in Stuttgart. Gustav Seligmann [1849-1920] whose collection was renowned for the aesthetic quality of its specimens was a strong supporter of the project with 132 of the depicted pieces being from his collection. Seligmann's collection was later incorporated into the Carl Bosch [1874-1940] collection, which was ultimately purchased in 1966 by the U.S. National Museum (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington. Today, the Seligmann specimens that are identifiable from the plates are especially noted within the collection. Good quality specimens were essential because the plates were intended to be easily recognizable to collectors. Medenbach notes that comparison between the actual specimens with the plates show that the manual work was implemented with much love and care, although some details were not included. Even without the lack of detail, the objective of depiction was met with species easily distinguished. Unfortunately, Braun's Mineralreich was among the last mineralogical works to be illustrated by the chromolithographic process. Technical advances in color photography and printing would soon supplant the labor intensive lithographic process.

This first edition was originally issued in 30 parts or "Lieferungen," presumably to allow the publisher to begin recovering costs for a very expensive production, and allow the buyers to acquire an expensive volume through a subscription spread over months. At the conclusion of publication, the 30 parts could then be bound into a single volume. That it was a successful venture is displayed by the appearance of other German editions, and translations sponsored by the publisher utilizing the same plates into English, Italian, Czech and Russian.

Very scarce. After the original 30 Lieferungen were issued, the publisher reissued the book. However, to make a cheaper edition, they made the unfortunate decision to use steel staples to bind the sections. Over time, these sections will become loose and even come apart. In addition, a cheaper grade of paper seems to have been used for printing the text.

Very scarce. This is the famous English translation done by Leonard James Spencer of Braun's Das Mineralreich (1st ed., Eßlingen und München, 1903), which utilizes the original German chromolithographic plates. The best English mineralogist of his time, Spencer has performed a splendid translation of Braun's text, adding his own notes, which like the German edition, became a popular mineralogical work in England.

Very scarce. Translation by Jan John of Das Mineralreich (Eßlingen und München, 1912).

Jan John. (Born: Žmutice, Czech Republic, 1850; Died: Tábor, Czech Republic, 1920) Czech naturalist. John worked as an instructor in various grammar schools before becoming the director of the grammar school at Tábor. He authored several books in the Czech language on natural history subjects. John studied mainly parasitic worms, but he also authored an atlas about butterflies, flowers and minerals, which is excellent.

Rare. Translation by ??? of Das Mineralreich (Eßlingen und München, 1903). It contains the indentical plates as those of the German editions with the same imprint information seen at the bottom of each plate. Descriptions of the plates are supplied on onion skin paper descriptive letterpress in Cyrillic type.